The End of an Era
4 hours ago
- The author reflects on a lucky 20-year window (roughly 2007-2024) when writing was hard but publishing became easy, which is now closing due to AI.
- An example of a $2.4M advance for a debut novel was rescinded after AI-use concerns, illustrating how every book is now suspect.
- AI-generated books are already winning awards, crowding bestseller lists, and potentially getting huge advances, signaling an end of an era.
- Prediction: Publishers will eventually embrace AI books, editing them to hide AI fingerprints, leading to machine-books sold alongside human-written ones.
- Most readers won't care whether a book is written by a human or AI, just if it's good, similar to how readers ignored self-publishing stigma.
- A niche group of readers will specifically seek out machine-books, similar to chess enthusiasts who admire specific AI engines.
- Established authors will increasingly use AI for assistance in research, editing, marketing, and other tasks, changing the writing process.
- The author's heart breaks for artists facing confusion and anger as it becomes easier to fake being an artist, making it harder for genuine artists to earn a living.
- There will be 'meat-book fanatics' who value human authors and their stories, leading to tools that prove a book's human origins, possibly through livestreaming or blockchain.
- The author advises doing creative work for love, not for external rewards, and welcomes readers to the new era, which is less favorable than the past decade.